The Shrine of Our Lady of Siluva

Švč. M.M. Apreiškimo koplyčia, Šiluva, Kauno apskritis, Litva

Website of the Sanctuary

+370 428 43190

The Shrine of our Lady of Siluva

Since the beginning of the XVI century Siluva has been famous for the indulgenced Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, popularly called “Šilinės”. Ever since that time, pilgrims have been attracted to this venerable image of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus in her arms.

Siluva is famous for the first widely known apparition of the Mother of God in Europe. This happened in a region marked with religious controversies, some of which led even to bloodshed.

The Virgin Mary appeared and talked to a person of a different faith, a Calvinist. Is not this unique fact, a sign of the Lord given through His Mother, an eloquent exhortation toward Christian reconciliation?

Our Lady of Siluva

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Today Our Lady of Siluva is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Lithuania with its ancient tradition of the indulgenced Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The faithful respond to the invitation of the Mother of God to worship Her Son.

The thousands who come to pray for physical and spiritual health often experience a spiritual rebirth and an opening of their hearts to God.

The Image of Our Lady of Siluva

The image was painted in the beginning of the XVII century following the iconographic style of the old Byzantine Hodegetria. The prototype of the image is the icon Santa Maria della Neve in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.

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The figures of Mother Mary and the Child Jesus are covered by a casing made from a collection of votive offerings by the famous goldsmith Lawrence Hoffman of Koenigsberg. On September 8, 1786, with the permission of Pope Pius VI, Bishop Stephen J. Giedraitis presided at the coronation of the image.

In 2002–2003, the painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Šiluva was thoroughly restored at the Pranas Gudynas Center of Restoration at the Lithuanian Museum of Art. After the restoration the painting regained its original beauty, revealing its pristine artistic value.

Indulgenced Feast

The octave of indulgenced celebrations begins annually on September 8th. Pilgrims traditionally arrive in processions from Tytuvėnai and Raseiniai. Each day of the octave is devoted to a particular theme or group, such as the military, police, health care personnel, institutional church workers, families, children and youth, the sick, and respect for human life.

During the entire octave, various events are organized as well, such as catechetical teachings, religious performances, video sessions and concerts.

Marian Day

The tradition of pilgrimages to Siluva on the 13th day of each month has been in existence for more than 20 years. This day is marked by special devotions and prayers requesting the special intercession of the Mother of God.

House of John Paul II

The House of John Paul II was opened in 2003 and serves various purposes, mainly for the preparatory course of the Kaunas Seminary. The seminarians live and study there for eight months of the year.

During the remaining four months of the summer the house is used for retreats of clergy and lay groups, as well as accommodations for pilgrims.

History

Siluva first became known in the year 1457 when the nobleman Peter S. Gedgaudas built a church dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles SS. Peter and Bartholomew.

Huge crowds of the faithful, even from neighboring Protestant Prussia, would flock to this site to celebrate the indulgenced Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In the middle of the XVI century the population in the vicinity of Siluva became predominantly Calvinist.

Nevertheless, as long as the old church was open, the people continued to attend the annual Feast until finally the church was closed and destroyed. Around the year 1569 the only remaining parish priest, Father John Holubka, hid all the surviving church valuables and documents in an ironclad box which he buried in the grounds of the devastated church.

The Catholics subsequently attempted legal proceedings against the Calvinists, seeking to regain the confiscated church property.

The case was complicated by the fact that the Catholic ownership documents had become lost. This issue was resolved by the miraculous intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who appeared on the very spot where the church had stood.

After her apparition the institutional documents of the Catholic church were found, and in 1622 the case concerning the restitution of Catholic ownership was won.

A small wooden church was built in the place where the original church had stood, and the famous indulgenced Feasts were reestablished. Soon the venerable image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Divine Child acquired miraculous fame.

In 1786 a new church was built–the present Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The government of Czarist Russia tried to suppress the tradition of devotion to Our Lady in Siluva, as the Feasts had provided an occasion to distribute illegally smuggled Lithuanian books and prayer books – in spite of the Czarist prohibition against such Lithuanian materials published in Latin characters.

The celebrations in Šiluva became especially popular after the reestablishment of State independence in 1918, at which time a special committee for organizing pilgrimages was founded in Kaunas.

Further development was hindered by the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in the 1940s.

The Soviet regime failed to suppress the traditional devotion, although KGB officers persistently tried to hinder the pilgrimages.

The opposition of the Soviet authorities culminated in 1979, when false information regarding an alleged pig epidemic was announced and all the roads leading to Siluva were officially blocked–at the very time of the main celebrations in early September.

Throughout its long history of political shifts and foreign occupations, Siluva has remained the center of spiritual attraction for pilgrims to Lithuania.

After the reestablishment of Lithuanian independence in 1990, the traditional devotions and celebrations experienced a new revival. On September 7th, 1993, during his visit to Lithuania, Pope John Paul II made a special pilgrimage to pray at this National Shrine of Our Lady in Šiluva.

In 2003, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the pope John Paul’s II visit, Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevičius blessed a new building for pilgrims and candidates to Seminary “Jono Pauliaus II namai”.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Siluva today

Indulgenced Feast

The octave of indulgenced celebrations begins annually on September 8th. Pilgrims traditionally arrive in processions from Tytuvėnai and Raseiniai. Each day of the octave is devoted to a particular theme or group, such as the military, police, health care personnel, institutional church workers, families, children and youth, the sick, and respect for human life. During the entire octave, various events are organized as well, such as catechetical teachings, religious performances, video sessions and concerts.

Marian Day

The tradition of pilgrimages to Siluva on the 13th day of each month has been in existence for more than 20 years. This day is marked by special devotions and prayers requesting the special intercession of the Mother of God.

House of John Paul II 

The House of John Paul II was opened in 2003 and serves various purposes, mainly for the preparatory course of the Kaunas Seminary. The seminarians live and study there for eight months of the year. During the remaining four months of the summer the house is used for retreats of clergy and lay groups, as well as accommodations for pilgrims.

The Image Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

The image was painted in the beginning of the XVII century following the iconographic style of the old Byzantine Hodegetria. The prototype of the image is the icon Santa Maria della Neve in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. The figures of Mother Mary and the Child Jesus are covered by a casing made from a collection of votive offerings by the famous goldsmith Lawrence Hoffman of Koenigsberg. On September 8, 1786, with the permission of Pope Pius VI, Bishop Stephen J. Giedraitis presided at the coronation of the image.

In 2002–2003, the painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Šiluva was thoroughly restored at the Pranas Gudynas Center of Restoration at the Lithuanian Museum of Art. After the restoration the painting regained its original beauty, revealing its pristine artistic value.

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The Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The present church, the Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was constructed and furnished in the third quarter of the XVIII century. The building is one of the finest examples of late Baroque architecture in Lithuania. The interior, designed by the gifted Lithuanian artist, Thomas Podgaiskis, has been preserved without significant changes for over two centuries. In 1976, Pope Paul VI conferred the honorary title of Basilica on the church. The ironclad box, found after the apparition of the Blessed Virgin, is safeguarded in the inner chapel of the Basilica.

At the beginning of the XX century a majestic tower chapel was built on the site of the Marian apparition. Standing forty meters tall, the chapel was designed by the architect Anthony Vivulskis, who also designed the Three Crosses monument in Vilnius. The altar within the Apparition chapel is constructed upon the same rock where, according to tradition, the Marian apparition took place.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

by car

Driving Siauliai-Kelme bus (A12 road), Kelme turn TYTUVENAI (Road 157), Tytuvėnai turn to Siluva (Road 148).

Driving Vilnius-Kaunas-Klaipeda highway (road A1) turn RASEINIAI turn Raseiniai to Siluva (Road 148).

by train

The nearest railway stations in Siauliai and Radviliškyje;
Details www.litrail.lt

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

History

Siluva first became known in the year 1457 when the nobleman Peter S. Gedgaudas built a church dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles SS. Peter and Bartholomew. Huge crowds of the faithful, even from neighboring Protestant Prussia, would flock to this site to celebrate the indulgenced Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In the middle of the XVI century the population in the vicinity of Siluva became predominantly Calvinist. Nevertheless, as long as the old church was open, the people continued to attend the annual Feast until finally the church was closed and destroyed. Around the year 1569 the only remaining parish priest, Father John Holubka, hid all the surviving church valuables and documents in an ironclad box which he buried in the grounds of the devastated church.

The Catholics subsequently attempted legal proceedings against the Calvinists, seeking to regain the confiscated church property. The case was complicated by the fact that the Catholic ownership documents had become lost. This issue was resolved by the miraculous intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who appeared on the very spot where the church had stood. After her apparition the institutional documents of the Catholic church were found, and in 1622 the case concerning the restitution of Catholic ownership was won. A small wooden church was built in the place where the original church had stood, and the famous indulgenced Feasts were reestablished. Soon the venerable image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Divine Child acquired miraculous fame. In 1786 a new church was built–the present Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The government of Czarist Russia tried to suppress the tradition of devotion to Our Lady in Siluva, as the Feasts had provided an occasion to distribute illegally smuggled Lithuanian books and prayer books – in spite of the Czarist prohibition against such Lithuanian materials published in Latin characters. The celebrations in Šiluva became especially popular after the reestablishment of State independence in 1918, at which time a special committee for organizing pilgrimages was founded in Kaunas. Further development was hindered by the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in the 1940s. The Soviet regime failed to suppress the traditional devotion, although KGB officers persistently tried to hinder the pilgrimages. The opposition of the Soviet authorities culminated in 1979, when false information regarding an alleged pig epidemic was announced and all the roads leading to Siluva were officially blocked–at the very time of the main celebrations in early September.

Throughout its long history of political shifts and foreign occupations, Siluva has remained the center of spiritual attraction for pilgrims to Lithuania. After the reestablishment of Lithuanian independence in 1990, the traditional devotions and celebrations experienced a new revival. On September 7th, 1993, during his visit to Lithuania, Pope John Paul II made a special pilgrimage to pray at this National Shrine of Our Lady in Šiluva.

In 2003, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the pope John Paul’s II visit, Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevičius blessed a new building for pilgrims and candidates to Seminary “Jono Pauliaus II namai”.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Posted in Europe and Lithuania